Читать книгу Haney's Art of Training Animals - W. H. Burroughs - Страница 37

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To teach a horse this trick requires a greater decree of labor and perseverance than is necessary to instruct him in almost any other. So wearisome is the task, and so long is the time required in its accomplishment, that in ordinary cases it is not worth attempting. We propose, however, in this little work to tell all that there is to be told about our subject, even though most of our readers should find many things impracticable in their own cases; and it is well worth while to explain all these matters though it be only to gratify the curiosity which is very naturally felt. An uninitiated person would probably be entirely at a loss how to set about accomplishing this feat, and it is doubtful whether he would succeed in discovering the secret of it without assistance. The mystery is not such a very great matter after all, and may be disclosed in a few words.

If you observe a really lame horse—if you haven’t any in your neighborhood just visit New York and you will find some beautiful specimens of the article—you will perceive that there is a constant jerking or bobbing of his head, caused by his lowering it as he treads upon the lame foot and raising it as he raises the foot again. Now the appearance of lameness is caused just as much by the motion of the head as anything else, and a really sound horse, if he bobbed his head as he lowered and raised a particular foot, would appear lame; in fact he would actually go lame with this foot because the motion of his head would compel him to tread more lightly on that than he did on the others, exactly as in the case of the bona fide lameness. This is the secret, and the trainer’s efforts are directed to producing this motion of the head. To make a horse bob his head is a trifling matter, but to make him do so every time he treads on one particular foot, and to do so at the right moment, without hesitation or mistake, requires many weary lessons, and a stock of patience equal to that popularly supposed to have been possessed by the ancient Job.

Commence by taking the horse by the bridle, close to his mouth, and walking him very slowly. Watch the foot with which you desire him to go lame, and each time that it comes that foot’s turn to step, press the horse’s head gently upward as he raises his foot, and downward as he again places it on the ground. Let your motions be simultaneous with the movement of the foot, proceeding so slowly that there is no danger of becoming confused. By-and-by you may release your hold of the bridle and make the motion with your hand, which he will soon obey. You may then accompany the motion by any sound or word of command, and he will learn finally to make the motion on hearing this sound.

A correspondent of an English journal lately described a pony in his possession who in some way had picked up a knowledge of this trick and applied it very acutely to his own advantage. The gentleman thus describes the proceedings of the animal: “Whenever the pony had been turned out to graze and was afterward brought up to be hitched into the carriage, it invariably turned lame after going a few yards—so lame in fact that I frequently turned back, being ashamed to drive an animal in such apparent pain; I say apparent, because no sooner had the pony been relieved of its harness than it used to canter around. The same pony when brought from the stable would go perfectly well as long as it wished, but when I drove it in any direction contrary to its inclination it became lame immediately; as soon as its head was turned homeward the lameness entirely disappeared.”